Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was spotted wearing an armoured vest under his suit jacket during an election rally in the Ontario city of Mississauga on Saturday. The prime minister appeared at the event after a 90-minute delay and posed for photos with the crowd, but this time he was escorted by a big squad of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in plain clothes and in tactical gear.
According to media reports, the measures were taken after Trudeau's campaign received a threat, but RCMP spokeswoman Stephanie Dumoulin as well as Liberal party spokeswoman Zita Astravas refused to go into detail about the security boost.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau donned a bulletproof vest and was flanked by heavy security during an appearance at an election campaign rally on Saturday, following what has been labelled a serious and credible threat against his life.https://t.co/zJgEh7v82c pic.twitter.com/MhlDHTHZKD
— Fiona Bateman (@feebateman) October 13, 2019
Meanwhile, Trudeau's main opponent, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer called the situation "upsetting", and stressed that any violent threats against the prime minister are unacceptable.
Very upsetting to hear that Justin Trudeau had to wear a bulletproof vest tonight at a campaign event. Threats of violence against political leaders have absolutely no place in our democracy. Thank you to the RCMP for taking these threats seriously and keeping us safe.
— Andrew Scheer (@AndrewScheer) October 13, 2019
